9. Australia — The Australian start-up scene is an emerging one, and despite relatively big start-up costs associated with high wages, the country scores highly on the "entrepreneurial" sub-index on account of its connectivity, infrastructure, and transparent business practices.

8. Singapore — The Economist newspaper has dubbed Singapore "the world’s most tightly packed entrepreneurial ecosystem," with a world-beating start-up environment. It scores highly on the Wharton index for its infrastructure, easy access to capital, and connectivity.

7. Canada — The first north American entry on the list ranks highly for its well-developed infrastructure, transparent business practices, and educated workforce. In 2015, the country launched an innovative 'Start-Up Visa' scheme, which links immigrant entrepreneurs with Canadian private sector organisations.

6. Sweden — The Scandinavian state ranks particularly highly for the transparency of its business practices and for its highly-educated workforce. The Swedish capital, Stockholm, is a leading start-up hub.

5. Switzerland — The small central European country is one of the world's wealthiest, and has the benefits of a highly-skilled and highly-educated workforce. It is highly attractive to entrepreneurs, with low corporate taxes, easy access to capital, and a well-developed legal framework.

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4. United Kingdom — OECD statistics note a 31% uptick in UK entrepreneurial activity between 2007 and 2016, bucking a worldwide downward trend. It scores particularly highly on the index for infrastructure, connectivity, and its strong legal framework.

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3. United States — The USA has long been established as a leading hub of innovation and entrepreneurial activity, particularly the world-famous Silicon Valley — an area of northern California which houses brands including Facebook and Google. The USA scores a full 10 on the index for connectivity and ease of access to capital.

2. Japan — Japan is one of the world's best educated and technologically advanced countries, making it highly attractive to entrepreneurs. It scores a full 10 for its advanced infrastructure.

1. Germany — Germany rates highly across the board as a well-connected country with a highly developed infrastructure and highly-skilled workforce, as well as having easy access to capital for entrepreneurs. The country comes fourth in the overall "best countries" index.